More and more people have CD players and cassette tape players installed in their automobiles, trucks, vans or boats. These devices are generally conveniently located on the dashboard of the vehicle, and are operated by inserting a suitable CD or cassette recording element into a receiving slot located on that dashboard.
These devices are quite popular, but often create a problem, and a potential hazard, due to the cover for the recording element being free after the recording element has been inserted into the recording player. The vehicle operator often tries to place the cover in a convenient location, and sometimes this is done while the vehicle is in motion. The vehicle operator may be tempted to search for a storage spot, or try to recover a cover while simultaneously trying to operate the vehicle.
While the art has several examples of devices for storing cassettes or CDs, such storage devices have several drawbacks. First, devices, such as disclosed in U.S. Patents Des 246,550, Des 247,135 and Des 220,317 are of a single size and are not amenable to changing sizes to increase or decrease the tightness with which the stored cover fits in the container. This prohibits a single cover from being stored securely and subjects such cover to becoming lost should it fall out of the storage device. On the other hand, if a single cover is held tightly, a plurality of covers may not fit into the storage device in an easy manner. Thus, such devices tend to hold the covers in a loose manner.
Still further, the known devices are intended to be permanently mounted, and thus can be in the way when not in use.
Still further, the known devices do not display the stored elements in a manner that is both attractive and which can reveal what tape or CD is in the recording and playback equipment.
Therefore, there is a need for a container for storing CD or cassette recording element covers and which can be removably mounted in a convenient location and can store such covers in a manner such that a single cover can be as tightly stored as a plurality of covers.